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Black-bellied
pangolin
Giant ground
pangolin
White-bellied
pangolin
Temminck’s
ground pangolin
Indian
pangolin
Chinese
pangolin
Sunda
pangolin
Philippine
pangolin
Pangolin sizes relative
to one another
Termite
mound
Imperiled Pangolins
Pangolins—scaly, shy, and sensitive—are believed to be the world’s
most trafficked nonhuman mammals. Their scales, which are made
of keratin (the material in fingernails), have no scientifically proven
curative properties but are in demand for use in traditional Chinese
medicine. All eight species are threatened with extinction, despite a
2017 ban on international commercial trade, and experts estimate that
more than a million pangolins were poached from 2000 through 2013.
Temminck’s ground pangolin
Smutsia temminckii
This ground pangolin is the only
species that regularly walks on
hind legs, using its large tail as
a counterbalance. This keeps its
front claws sharp for digging.
Black-bellied pangolin
Phataginus tetradactyla
The smallest of the eight
species and the only one with
black skin, this pangolin has 47
vertebrae in its tail, more than
in the tail of any other mammal.
AFRICAN SPECIES
White-bellied pangolin
Phataginus tricuspis
The most common of the
tree-dwelling pangolins—and
the leading species poached in
Africa—lives in tropical forests
and dense woodlands.
Giant ground pangolin
Smutsia gigantea
The largest pangolin can weigh
over 75 pounds. Pangolins are
toothless and use a sticky tongue—
the giant’s stretches nearly two
feet—to feast on termites.
Europe has become an
important transit hub
for African pangolin
scales trafficked to Asia.
New poaching grounds
Countries in Southeast Asia
were once the main suppliers of
pangolins to the Chinese market.
Traffickers are now turning to
Africa to meet demand as Asian
pangolin populations plummet.